waxworms good or bad

[robynz]

The only thing I can get my gecko to eat are waxworms. How bad are they for him? I bought him from the store where I work . He was there for almost a year before I bought him and I knew he didn't really eat crickets and right before I bought him he started to eat superworms. Since he has been with me he won't eat the superworms and the only time I have been able to get mealworns was right after I got him and he didn't eat anything for the first 2 weeks by then the mealworms had died and my store hasn't got in any mealworms since then.

 

[LeapinLizards]

They are NOT a staple diet. They are extremely fatty, and should only be given as a treat. The probable reason why your gecko will not take anything else is because it is spoiled with wax worms! It would be like us eating twinkies all day, every day, and then being offered a salad

If he is hungry enough, he will eat...as long as there are no health problems and his temps are correct.

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

Very Bad

They are worse than twinkies.

They are Fatty and the taste of Fat can be sort of sweet.

Twinkies have sugar and flour. The flour will break down into sugar.

So instead of a Twinkie it is like eating a Super Douper Big Greasy Fatty Hamburger Patty. You get some protien but, the Greasy Taste in your mouth makes you want more.

You don't get enough nutrients and your body craves more but, what you really want is a Big Greasy Fatty Waxie. They will want Waxies all of the time and will not eat anything else so you have to break your Leo of the habit.

Cause who wants a dry Mealworm or an uninteresting salad when you can have a Waxie.

Waxies should be given as treats once a week or once every other week.

So LeapinLizards has it right.

 

[Libby15]

Wow, now I want a twinkie.

 

[LizMarie]

Cause who wants a dry Mealworm or an uninteresting salad when you can have a Waxie..

I think I'd choose the uninteresting salad!!! LOL

As for waxies they are a no no for a staple diet but for treats they are nice. I personally refuse to feed waxies I rather know that my gecko is gaining weight that is nutritious instead of just plain old fat. To get her off of waxies you might have to do it cold turkey. Your gecko won't go hungry knowing that there's food around he might just act like a stubborn fool but you can't let him win.

 

[geckoboy16]

i only feed them to breeders once a week. definatly not a staple diet.

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

LizMarie

No Salad ... Fatty Meat.

Much more tastee.:main_yes:

 

[robynz]

I'm going to try the cold turkey thing. I don't have anymore waxworms and he already has a few superworns in his cage. I also gave him 4 crickets when I put them in his cage 2 landed on his head and he showed no interest in them . I think he is going to give me a real hard time with this but I will do what is best for him.

 

[nats]

Look at it this way.
How healthy is it for you to have a nice big slice of chocolate
cheesecake every day for dinner (and I dont mean desert)!?

 

[Digby Rigby]

Wax Worms

Wax worms aka gecko crack like people say are very fatty. You would be better served with silkworms or hornworms. Roaches also would be good all of these items can also be used as a staple. We run away from the crickets and mealworms. Here you go the original quarter pounder!

Digby Rigby [email protected]

 

[Gregg M]

Wax worms can be very good depending on its application...
Are they good as a staple??? No
Are they good as a treat?? Yeas
Are they good to help fatten up skinny leos??? Yes
Are they good for breeding adults once a week??? Yes

They are not like crack or twinkies... They are not addictive and giving leos a few, once a week, is fine... Mine get them once a week... Do any of mine start twitching or go through withdrawl if they dont get them??? No... They also do not refuse other prey items... And none of mine are overweight either...

Its funny how you see these same quotes about the likeness of wax worms to human drugs and foods when it is not even close to the truth.. I dont want to offend anyone but come on now guys...

Also, superworms are just about as fatty (16 to 17%) as wax worms but everyone seems to think they are a good staple...

 

[fallen_angel]

We have a gecko that refused all food except for waxies. I beg to differ that they can get addicted to them and won't want to eat anything else. We tried crickets, roaches, mealworms, and superworms to no avail. She wouldn't even look in the direction of anything. But then as soon as a waxie was put in, she was on it like no other. Does it last forever? No, but it took me a month and a half of hand feeding before I could get her to start eating something else.

PS - I hope that didn't sound rude, it was just very difficult going through that with her

 

[Gregg M]

Not rude at all... It is just that there is nothing addictive about wax worms... There is no drug natural or otherwize in wax worms... If you had a leo that just ate crickets for its entire life or even for just a few months, switching it to meal worms would be just as hard... It is not that they are addicted, it is what they are used to eating...

So again, wax worms are not addictive and they are not like twinkies... As long as a leos diet is varied they will not become used to just one type of food... Plain and simple...

 

[nats]

Wax worms can be very good depending on its application...
Are they good as a staple??? No
Are they good as a treat?? Yeas
Are they good to help fatten up skinny leos??? Yes
Are they good for breeding adults once a week??? Yes

They are not like crack or twinkies... They are not addictive and giving leos a few, once a week, is fine... Mine get them once a week... Do any of mine start twitching or go through withdrawl if they dont get them??? No... They also do not refuse other prey items... And none of mine are overweight either...

Its funny how you see these same quotes about the likeness of wax worms to human drugs and foods when it is not even close to the truth.. I dont want to offend anyone but come on now guys...

Also, superworms are just about as fatty (16 to 17%) as wax worms but everyone seems to think they are a good staple...

I would have to dissagree with you on the addiction part.
Newpy got spoiled in only a few days (my own stupid fault) and would
not eat ANYTHING else.
It took days for me to ween her off of them and back to a normal diet.

 

[Spooki]

it's not a physical addiction... it's like a little kid after having his first cookie. all he wants now are cookies because they taste so good.

 

[ValMarley08]

my female loves waxies....she will eat crickets but when it comes to worms thats the type she has to have....i tried superworms last and she wanted nothing to do with them...spoiled brat! ha ha...my male on the other hand is boring and doesnt hunt very well...he is lazy...waits for crickets to come to him ha ha...typical man! lol jk jk

 

[Gregg M]

I would have to dissagree with you on the addiction part.

LOL... Disagree all you like, it does not change the fact that waxworms are NOT ADDICTIVE!!! This is why I hate caresheets so much...

 

[mynewturtle]

I agree with Greg 100%. Feed these daily and sure they won't eat anything else, I have some geckos that eat nothing but crickets are they addictive aswell?

As Greg has stated, if you feed them responsibly (a couple a week my opinion) they are a great treat added to a diet.

Personally I am a wax worm fan.

 

[Snowy & Petra de Gecko]

I think

I think that they are not addictive.

I think that they will just prefer to eat them if you are only to give them what they like.

I also think that if they had no choice that they would eat anything.

 

[fallen_angel]

I agree that they are just fine when being fed responsibly. I actually fed wax worms everyday to our geckos at one point, but they were also eating a superworm with the wax worm each day. None of the geckos got to the point of only wanting wax worms. But I definitely would not feed wax worms as a staple or have it be the only food item that is offered.

And that is very true, I never thought of it like that Greg. I have geckos that will only eat super worms and not want to touch meal worms. Then we have geckos that will only eat crickets or roaches (fast-moving prey). We have a few that don't even like or want wax worms at all, too.